Enforcement is almost nonexistent. In Indonesia, a government-owned mining firm employed a retired U.S. Marine master sergeant as a transportation consultant at a rate of $500 a day, plus living expenses. The liberalization drive is accompanied by a punishing crackdown on liberals. That obvious omission signaled an early decision by Biden that, despite his campaign pledge to make Saudi Arabia a pariah and notwithstanding the countrys brutal human rights violations, he would end up engaging with the country, according to White House officials. All the while, the gulf countries security forces have continued to commit human rights abuses at home and beyond their borders. Punaro, 76, a longtime Pentagon adviser and former congressional staffer, said he worked for Jones as a consultant from April 2017 to April 2018, traveling to Riyadh every month or two. Adding to the horror is the torture of women activists in detention, rising digital authoritarianism the arrest or disappearance of critics over social media posts and the arbitrary ban on overseas travel that often extends to the family members of those arrested. In a brief phone interview, Haight said he left the job in December 2021. And this week, an Israeli prime minister spoke with the president of the Palestinian Authority for the first time in five years. Wald received approval from the State Department to work for the Saudis and Ironhand Security in March 2017. What to know about summer wildfires. 10 min Article JERUSALEM Shortly after taking office, President Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify their assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered. 5 Flynn acknowledged the financial penalty in a television interview in May, but suggested it was politically motivated. This article was published more than1 year ago. The crown prince basically said that he was concerned about the amount of money that Saudi Arabia was spending on military hardware and equipment, as opposed to capabilities, Jones said. In an interview, he said he felt it was important to help the Saudis improve their military so the United States didnt have to act as their primary protector. / Saudi Defense Ministry, Deputy commander, NATO Joint Warfare Center, 2012-2014 Commander, 36th Wing, 2010-2012, Senior adviser, Jones Group Intl. But it appears to be locking up or scaring away its best and brightest. Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (/ k o d i, k d i /; Arabic: , romanized: Jaml Amad uqj, Hejazi pronunciation: [damal xa. My travel next week will serve that purpose. Blame climate change. Officials from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps declined interview requests about their approval processes for foreign employment. Biden now finds himself in an uncomfortable position as he visits Saudi Arabia later this week, trying to signal simultaneously that he values the country as an ally and that he harbors significant reservations about visiting. POGO shared the documents it received from the State Department with The Post. Military officials redacted the pay packages for retired generals and admirals, as well as the names of lower-ranking personnel. Attacks against our troops and diplomats had increased fourfold over the preceding year. It would be really helpful if the president himself could articulate a clear Middle East strategy, so that our allies and partners could help the United States in achieving those objectives., Reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House, Biden heads to Saudi Arabia amid discomfort and criticism, An institution guy in the House, Steve Womack is fed up and might retire, The top 10 Republican presidential candidates for 2024, ranked, The incredibly damaging timeline of the alleged Mar-a-Lago coverup, assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing, increase production by 648,000 barrels per day. Brazil rejects U.S. extradition request for alleged Russian spy, In repeat bombing of Odessa, Putin deepens economic war on Ukraine, American nurse and her child are kidnapped in Haiti, nonprofit says, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom on Thursday, talks that took place in Copenhagen in June. It allowed mixed gender workspaces and music concerts in a country once notorious for corralling the sexes. As of 2015, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary owned 51 percent of Vinnell Arabia, according to court papers the company filed in response to a federal lawsuit in Virginia. He said the countries involved were almost always friendly to Washington and looking for American expertise to make their militaries more professional. Officials with the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for an interview. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images) Gift Article The Biden administration will impose no direct punishment on Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist. 16 The Army redacted the colonels name, but he had worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency for four years, overseeing strategic intelligence products on Libya. Read his application. Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. (d)i]; 13 October 1958 - 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al . How Trump got $225 million in loans from little-known Axos Bank - The Washington Post Exclusive Trump needed $225 million. 11 One Marine colonel earned a monthly salary of $25,000 as an Ironhand Security project manager, reviewing internal military modernization reports for the Saudi Defense Ministry. Trump Admin-Saudi Nuclear Probe Resurfaces Ahead of Warrant - Newsweek U.S. officials approved these contracts but fought to keep them secret. The Navy approved the request in August 2020, but the State Department overruled the decision four months later, concluding that the arrangement would adversely affect the foreign relations of the United States. No further explanation was given. Weve worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain the peace without permitting terrorists to rearm. Read Lutes documents. As a reporter in the 'new' Saudi Arabia - The Washington Post JERUSALEM Shortly after taking office, President Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify their assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi government. In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016. (Amr Nabil/AP) Anuj Chopra is a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University. The Post submitted its first FOIA requests for the documents in May 2020. The Saudi Public Investment Fund also invested $2 billion last year in a private equity firm run by Jared Kushner, Donald Trumps son-in-law, according to a New York Times, The Navy redacted Carters name from the documents, but his job title and other details match his online. Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter who specializes in national security issues. Among them are Edward Cashman, a retired Navy rear admiral; Sean Jenkins, a retired Army major general; and Cathal OConnor, a retired Navy rear admiral. Saudi strikes against Yemen relied on U.S. support. After getting little or no response from the military services and the State Department, The Post filed a lawsuit in federal court in April 2021. Sullivan has also long pushed for increased engagement with the kingdom, as has Hochstein, whose influence and portfolio have grown tremendously in recent months, White House aides said. Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. Riyad Mahrez leaves Manchester City for Al-Ahli - The Washington Post Since 2017, he has sought U.S. approval for four separate deals to advise the governments of Singapore and Japan. The war in Yemen was escalating, creating one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises, with no political process in sight to end the fighting. In a column published Saturday in The Washington Post, Biden said a top goal is to ensure that Saudi Arabia does not fall into the orbit of a hostile power. Thats unfortunate, because that sends messages over to the region and makes the likelihood of success in their trip lower.. The prohibition stems from the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, which forbids federal officeholders to accept gifts, jobs or titles from any King, Prince, or foreign State without the consent of Congress. In February, for example, a brand-new Saudi defense contractor Scopa Industries Corp. LLC opened for business with an ambitious agenda. Documents show that 25 retirees from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps were granted permission to take jobs in Saudi Arabia. But U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Mohammed had ordered the killing and noted that seven members of the hit squad served on his personal security detail. A Saturday report by The Washington Post detailed new information about Trump's and Kushner's ties with Saudi Arabia, citing recently published memoirs, accounts in congressional testimony,. The Project On Government Oversight (POGO), a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington, filed a similar public-records lawsuit against the State Department to learn more about how former U.S. service members are selling their military expertise to foreign powers. U.S. military officials redacted information on how much money Libyan officials paid the retired generals. Research by Alice Crites. The law applies to military retirees because they can be recalled to active duty at any time. In September, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled largely in favor of The Post and ordered the government to release the pay packages and other withheld material. Saudi crown prince bin Salman smirks at Jamal Khashoggi question The repression is also fueling an increasingly vocal diaspora. Beckers military career ended in 2019 after the Army relieved him of command for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a woman while he was separated from his wife. News of the summit comes after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom on Thursday. July 28, 2023 at 10:35 a.m. EDT (Alastair Grant/AP) Gift Article Share MANCHESTER, England Riyad Mahrez is the latest Premier League player to head to Saudi Arabia after signing with Al-Ahli.. Are you on Telegram? To carry out the project, Jones assembled a team of about a dozen former senior Pentagon officials, including William S. Cohen, who served as secretary of defense in the Clinton administration. Saudi Arabia buys more U.S. weapons than any other country in the world by far. Many consultants in private concede they tell their Saudi paymasters what they want to hear. Wald said Saudi Arabia had made measurable progress on reforming its military by the time he stopped working for Jones Group in September 2021. To restore deterrence, I ordered airstrikes in response to the attacks against our troops and began serious diplomatic outreach to bring about a more stable region. An Army investigation determined that Haight, a married Army Ranger who had served as a brigade commander in Afghanistan, embraced a swinger lifestyle and carried on an 11-year affair with a female government employee. The Post found that many military retirees take foreign jobs or gifts without notifying the U.S. government at all. If you embed with another military as trainers, it may not make that country into Switzerland, but it wont make it worse, he said. Flynns work for Russia helped prompt Congress to pass legislation in 2019 and 2020 requiring the Pentagon to submit annual reports to lawmakers about retired generals and admirals who work for foreign powers. I hoped that one day I might publish it if the source ever felt safe. But Bidens ongoing discomfort was reflected in his public refusal to acknowledge the decision, telling reporters in early June that he had no direct plans at the moment to visit Saudi Arabia. SAMI announced his hiring on Sept. 4, 2019, almost a full year before he received tentative approval from the Navy. Brown, retired Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo and retired Air Force Col. Todd Harmer. But Biden did not actually put sanctions on the crown prince, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom. In the surveillance state that is Saudi Arabia, she feared being outed despite being obsessively cautious. In May, the Army ordered him to forfeit the $38,557 that he received from the Moscow trip. Saudi Arabia to Host Ukraine Peace Talks as Part of Western Effort to Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press, nor did Ukraines Embassy in Riyadh. But Washington has long struggled to reconcile its robust security partnership with Saudi Arabia and the kingdoms troubling record on human rights. Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official said. a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group, have angered Biden and American lawmakers, who has sought to reach a dtente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom's yearslong war in Yemen, which U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Prince Mohammed ordered. Saudi officials first denied any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi. It was a source with a desperate plea: Do not publish. U.S. fought to keep veterans' jobs with foreign - The Washington Post Twitter. It's what's happening / Twitter Jones said he agreed to conduct an organizational assessment of the Saudi armed forces for Prince Mohammed starting in 2017, but only after checking with officials at the White House, State Department and Defense Department and obtaining their support. The White House in a brief statement said that Sullivan arrived in Jeddah on Thursday for talks with . Military officials redacted those officers identities, asserting that the public had no right to the information. Saudi Arabia has witnessed more change in the past four years than in the past 40. Four lower-ranking retired officers working for Jones two Marine colonels, an Army colonel and a Navy captain earned salaries ranging from $200,000 to $300,000 to advise the Saudi Defense Ministry. Biden and his aides defend the administrations record on Saudi Arabia, pointing to Bidens moves to declassify the U.S. intelligence report on Khashoggis killing; impose sanctions on Saudis tied to the killing; encourage the Saudi-Yemeni cease-fire; and reverse Trumps blank check policy toward the kingdom. The retired Air Force colonel was seeking approval to become the firms senior vice president and general counsel. Jones said his employees are instructed to complete all of the requirements that they need to do before working with the Saudis. 2 Read the SEALs application for permission to work for the Saudi Interior Ministry. A new Washington Post investigation has uncovered the fact that hundreds of veterans have taken lucrative foreign jobs often for countries with known human rights abuses. Video editing by Jason Aldag. A prominent beneficiary of Mohammeds reign has been 78-year-old James L. Jones, the retired general who served as Obamas national security adviser and had been commandant of the Marine Corps. Attenzione, pickpocket! Crime-stopping tips from TikToks favorite watchdogs. Saudi Arabia spends more on its military than any other nonnuclear power in the world. Those seeking authorization for foreign work must also pass a background check and counterintelligence review. Official tells AP that Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized Flynn acknowledged the financial penalty in a. The Defense Department can withhold retirement pay from those who ignore the rules. Read the documents. He left the company in September 2021. After a two-year legal battle, The Post obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents, including case files for about 450 retired soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. In Saudi Arabia, we reversed the blank-check policy we inherited. Retirees who are assigned by large U.S. companies such as Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics to work with foreign governments are generally exempt. A Navy spokeswoman said the service has been waiting more than two years for the State Department to make a final determination. Read the Navy officers application and the State Departments denial. In May 2020, the Army denied an application by a retired officer who had a $300,000-a-year job lined up with Jones Group International to serve as a consultant to the Saudi Defense Ministry. Those approvals are necessary before the retirees can accept any compensation, even travel expenses, from a foreign government or state-owned company. In 2021, its defense budget exceeded $50 billion roughly the same as in Britain, a country with nuclear arms. Trump pardoned him three years later. As president, it is my job to keep our country strong and secure. He said his companies now hold four Saudi contracts and employ 53 Americans in Riyadh. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah they are.. 13 Read Alexanders application to work for the Prince Mohammed bin Salman College of Cyber Security. This article was published more than1 year ago. In 1977, Congress delegated the authority to approve veterans foreign work to the Pentagon and State Department. But records show they rarely reject a job request. Their government is ineffective. Saudi Arabia is one of them.. / Government of Libya, Director, Joint IED Defeat Organization, 2011-2013 Commander, NATO Training Mission - Iraq, 2009-2011, Security consultant, Ironhand Security / Saudi Defense Ministry, Staff director, Senate Armed Services Committee, 1987-1995 Director of Reserve Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps, 2001-2003, Commander, U.S. forces in Afghanistan, 2005-2007 U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, 2009-2011, Security consultant, Jones Group Intl. In Azerbaijan, a retired U.S. Air Force general was offered a consulting gig at a rate of $5,000 a day. The Biden team, and President Biden himself, are fumbling their articulation of why theyre even going, said Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. 8 Read Barberos application to work for the Saudis. Saudi Arabia has long been a monarchy-driven autocracy, but many of the kingdoms citizens will tell you in hushed whispers that the repression has never been worse. The Biden administration on Friday released a highly anticipated U.S. intelligence report that concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the brutal killing of the Washington. The inspector general opened an investigation into Flynns work for foreign governments in 2017, but the case took five years to resolve. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States. 10 min Gift Article Despite its furious reaction to Saudi Arabia's decision last month to cut oil production in the face of global shortages, and threats of retaliation, the Biden. The State Department approved Joness request to work for the Saudis in March 2017. Director Bryan Fogel's documentary castigates Saudi Arabia for its connection to the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which earned it a cold shoulder from streamers . Anecdotally, I found some Saudis sidestep the traitor label through fake displays of nationalism. Security consultant, Ironhand Security / Saudi Defense MinistryPrincipal adviser, Jones Group Intl. On Oct. 5, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of the OPEC Plus cartel announced they would slash oil production to raise prices. He told The Post he did not need it because he worked directly for Booz Allen and was not involved in any contract issues with the Saudis.. It lifted the worlds only ban on female drivers and reopened cinemas, ending decades-old prohibitions. It was previously part of the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone. Newly released transcripts tell last, gruesome moments of columnist It accused the Saudis of siding with Moscow, whose oil is under Western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine. Retired generals and admirals command the most money, but former enlisted personnel can also collect hefty foreign paychecks on top of their U.S. military pensions, records show. In June 2017, Mohammed amassed even more power when his father, 82-year-old King Salman, shook up the Saudi line of succession and named him crown prince, or heir apparent. Design and development by Frank Hulley-Jones, Stephanie Hays and Talia Trackim. After getting little or no response from the military services and the State Department, The Post filed a lawsuit in federal court in April 2021. Records show that a few American officers even negotiated jobs with foreign governments while they were still on active duty. Saudi Arabia is one of them, and when I meet with Saudi leaders on Friday, my aim will be to strengthen a strategic partnership going forward thats based on mutual interests and responsibilities, while also holding true to fundamental American values. After my predecessor reneged on a nuclear deal that was working, Iran had passed a law mandating the rapid acceleration of its nuclear program. Many U.S. companies ceased doing business with Saudi Arabia in the weeks after Khashoggis murder, including lobbyists and public relations firms that had represented the kingdom in Washington. Copy editing by Martha Murdock and Christopher Rickett. In an interview, Jones said he was approached by Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabias foreign minister, who asked him to meet with Mohammed during the princes visit to the United States that year to discuss the possibility of consulting for the Defense Ministry. Flynns unauthorized work for foreign governments came to light after he was photographed sitting next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2015 gala in Moscow celebrating the 10th anniversary of Russia Today, or RT, a propaganda arm of the Kremlin. A more secure and integrated Middle East benefits Americans in many ways. Jones owns two Virginia-based consulting firms Ironhand Security LLC and Jones Group International LLC that have held contracts to advise the Saudi Defense Ministry. The satellite company is International Launch Services Inc., which is majority-owned by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center in Moscow. Timeline of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi Saudi Arabia has seen a steady rise in citizens seeking asylum overseas. 12 The Saudi Press Agency publicly announced IronNets partnership with the college in July 2018. 04:55 Pegasus: the spyware technology that threatens democracy - video A forensic examination of Elatr's Android phone found that she was sent four text messages that contained malicious links.
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